The voice structure consists of 2 VCOs, 1 VCF with two slope options, 2 EGs, 1 VCA, and 1 LFO. The Minilogue’s wave shape capability lets you fine tune the oscillators’ harmonics. The Minilogue is also equipped with a variety of powerful types of modulation, including cross modulation, oscillator sync, and ring modulator.

The Minilogue’s four voices can be allocated in eight different ways:

POLY – operates as a four-voice polyphonic synthesizer

DUO – operates as a unison two-voice polyphonic synthesizer

UNISON – operates as an all-unison mono synthesizer

MONO – operates as a mono synth with sub-oscillator

CHORD – produces chords

DELAY – voices 2–4 sound consecutively at a delay following voice 1

ARP – an arpeggiator operates with up to four voices

SIDE CHAIN – when a note sounds, the volume of the preceding voice is lowered

Here’s a diagram that shows how the individual voices fit into the Minilogue’s synthesis architecture:

The four voices go through a single high-pass filter and an optional delay circuit prior to output.

Pff, marketing fluff for a new revision of an old product. don’t get me wrong, I’ve owned many Yamaha products and liked them, but there’s a big difference between talking up how great your product is going to be and just putting it out there for people to hear as Korg has done. I look forward to hearing the Montage and wish Yamaha well with it, but this is the 3rd year in a row that Korg has dominated NAMM before the doors even opened.

Ok, now THIS looks interesting… not only are the specs hella impressive, its got a built in sequencer, USB connectivity and its class compliant? Well played, Yammi. Well played…

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Motion Control Synthesis Engine unifies and controls two iconic Sound Engines: AWM2 (high-quality waveform and subtractive synthesis) and FM-X (modern, pure Frequency Modulation synthesis.) These two engines can be freely zoned or layered across eight parts in a single MONTAGE Performance.

Interact with MONTAGE Performances using Motion Control: a highly programmable control matrix for creating deep, dynamic and incredibly expressive sound. With Motion Control, you can create new sounds not possible on previous hardware synthesizers.

1. Sophisticated Dynamic Control

Music is expression. MONTAGE adds a new level of expression with the Motion Control Synthesis Engine. This engine allows a variety of methods to interact with and channel your creativity into finding your own unique sound.

– Super Knob

Create dynamic sound changes from radical to sublime with the Super Knob. The Super Knob can control multiple parameters simultaneously resulting in anything you can imagine.

For example: change your listening position from right in front of an instrument to in the back seat of a concert hall. Or radically change the character of a Performance from atmospheric and mellow to rhythmic and edgy.

The Super Knob can even be assigned to a second FC7 foot controller making it easy to manipulate the sound when playing with both hands.

– Motion SEQ

Motion Sequences are tempo-synchronized, completely customizable control sequences that can be assigned to virtually any synthesizer parameter and provide incredible creative new ways of programming sound.

Motion Sequences also have dedicated controls on the front panel making it easy to manipulate and change in real-time, providing incredible interactivity and expression.
– Envelope Follower

Enlarge

The Envelope Follower converts audio into a control source for control of virtually any synthesizer parameter. For example, a drum loop could drive effects parameters for a cool rhythms or a vocal recording could control multiple parameters for a “talking” synthesizer. The audio can even be a “live” source through the A/D input.

Every instrument needs great content to inspire your creativity. MONTAGE features a huge range of incredible sounds like a brand-new Yamaha CFX Premium Grand Piano, detailed new strings and woodwinds and select content from the DX and TX family, all modernized to take advantage of the Motion Control Synthesis Engine.

?Compatibility
MONTAGE is directly compatible with Motif XF Voices. Yamaha is developing an FM converter to make it compatible with DX7 series Voices as well.

?Bösendorfer Piano
As part of the MONTAGE introduction, Yamaha is pleased to offer an incredible Bösendorfer Imperial Premium Grand Piano.

– Effects

From high definition reverbs to incredibly detailed Virtual Circuit Modeling (VCM) effects, MONTAGE is loaded with DSP innovation, power and, most importantly, sound quality. Use effects like Beat Repeat, Vinyl Break or Bit Crusher to get a modern EDM sound. You can even add a compressor with sidechain for a modern “ducking” effect. Or go retro with vintage effects like Analog Delay, VCM Phaser or a variety of Amp Simulators. Piano players will appreciate piano-focused effects like Damper Resonance for a super-realistic piano experience and the HD reverbs that let you put yourself in any performance space.
– Pure Analog Circuit

MONTAGE features professional balanced outputs with “Pure Analog Circuit” (PAC). PAC improves the quality of signal after being converted to analog from digital for clear harmonic reproduction and even frequency response. The result is an output capable of reproducing MONTAGE’s internal content expressively with power and clarity.
3. Streamlined Workflow

How do you want to integrate your instrument with your system? How do you want to organize the onboard content? How do you want to interact with the instrument while you play? MONTAGE answers these questions and more with a flexible, streamlined workflow.

Seamless Sound Switching (SSS) lets you change performances seamlessly without any cut-off in envelope or effects. This is perfect for live performances where you end one song and start another without stopping.

* This function is only available for Performances that have a maximum of 8 parts.
– A/D Input

The A/D input processes external audio sources with your instrument’s DSP. Use mics, guitars or any line source as an input and process with the internal effects.

You can even use these sources with the Envelope Follower or Sidechain for a truly unique sound.
– Physical Control

Eight Rotary Encoders and Faders with Stepladder LED

MONTAGE features a comprehensive set of physical controls for intuitive music making and sound creation.

?Touch Screen
Select and change parameters directly with the new color touch screen.

?Eight Rotary Encoders and Faders with Stepladder LED
Stepladder LEDs next to the faders indicate position making it easy to see where your current mix position is.

?Keyboard Action
MONTAGE is available in three different configurations:

MONTAGE8 features an 88 key, fully-weighted Balanced Hammer action with aftertouch. This provides equal resistance for each key across the keyboard and is perfect for playing a variety of instruments from acoustic piano to electric piano, synth sounds, organ and more!

– LIVE SET

Live Set lets you organize your Performances however you want without copying, changing order or renaming. When a Performance is selected, you can easily register it to a Live Set. This is perfect for playing gigs or even creating your own organization scheme for Performances.
– Direct Control Assignment

Direct Control Assignment assigns controls at the touch of a button. Simply select a parameter, hit the Direct Control Assignment button and move the controller to control that parameter. It’s easy!
– Cubase AI bundle

MONTAGE is bundled with Cubase AI, Steinberg’s professional music production application that offers integrated recording and editing.

So it’s the lovechild of a Motif and an FS1r, big surprise. Ooh, it has color screens and light-up encoders. And a ‘super knob’.. Staggering.

Look, I don’t mean to be cynical – this seems like a fine workstation keyboard from a company with a well-earned reputation for quality. If they got the user interface right, it might be the keyboard that really unlocks the potential of FM instead of hiding it behind a cryptic 2-line LCD. But it feels safe rather than daring. Phrases like ‘128 notes of polyphony’ are a turn-off for me these days, it’s like talking about the number of seats in an SUV.

What’s the point of comparing this full size Yamaha monster that will certainly carry a four digit price tag with the $500 Korg analog poly? The Yamaha is all digital. I’m sure it will sound great, and, I’d be happy to have one, but maybe discuss it in it’s own thread. There is no comparison here at all except they are both new models.

the images that are avail look like a workstation/arranger with obligitory lights + colors to make it work in the “current market”. looks like another attempt at a do all one stop shop. (that enevitably cant to anything well). i love how they fluff the “super knob” into somthing thats not simply macros and automation…

i mean cmon, even the motif xf is 3.5k, imagine what they want for 10x the waveforms and “possibilitys”

Korg seems like they are very interested in inventing new modes. Delay mode? side chain mode?
How about this. Drop one of those. Create a mode where each voice card can hold a different patch. Call it Monopoly mode.

I hope that’s all that’s stopping them! Lots of multitimbral synths are set up the same way. e.g.,I have a Kurzweil that can play 16 different parts but you have to choose which one of those parts has the ‘master’ effects. That is, the effects are not per voice/part and when it’s being played multi-timbrally, you can only set a send amount for each part to the master parts effects. It’s totally fine. Shit, they can bypass the delay entirely for all I care if it would allow this to be multitimbral!

If there’s no panning control, then there’s no stereo information to send out. Mono or poly, you’ve got to split the signal somehow. If the LFO could control pan position of a voice (or if there were separate panning parameters for each voice), that would make sense. Or, if the delay were in stereo. But on this particular synth, that’s not the case.

i was hoping at least the headphone jack would be a stereo output, but according to the manual it is the same output. being able to create stereo effects with built in LFO’s or even all the new parameters would have made this a lot funner to create with, was it an oversight or did making it stereo really cost that much more?). This seems a lot more affordable then the Tetra, but that at least has the stereo output (plus you can do output for each voice) . Listening through the demos with headphones, it just is missing that stereo depth. I guess you can always put this through a chorus pedal and effects.

I was thinking similarly. Last year, I was getting so close to buying a used DSI Tetra because it is a cheaper poly synth and it uses true stereo synthesis (4 voices and 4 outputs). I’m still on the fence about getting that or the Monologue. The kicker is that Korg’s new little beast has SO MANY AWESOME FEATURES!!! With the Tetra, I would have to program those parameters from behind a computer… :/

It’s funny, I have been checking it out, quite a bit, for a while now, was gonna buy.
Even the ‘click’ ”issue’ wasn’t going to stop me. I guess I never noticed the mono output
thing because its’ not really in my mind of polysynths…it wasn’t a feature I realized I needed to confirm. I think even some monosynths will make stereo sounds.
Idk, I’m just kinda over it now because of this, for all the reasons mentioned elsewhere.
This makes it not the thing I was hoping for.

uhh. beavis, where’s the sinewave?
at ’23 seconds “.. even a single raw sinewave, sound beautiful..
BAM sawtooth!
just sayin..
love me some sine waves! , that would have been cool as a fixed waveform, esp for wave folding..of course you can fold a triangle into a sine.. but .. just wanted to geek out real quick before saying
SERIOUSLY AMAZING SYNTH!
must resist..

As this synth has an oscilloscope in it, you can watch the following in action: Take a triangle wave, run it though a lowpass filter. As you reduce the cutoff, the waveform goes from triangle to sine.

Now, I will note, that in a 2 OSC setup, I personally find that a sine wave has some utility, particularly if you’re using the second OSC as more of a sub. This allows the filter to work more with the first OSC.

I got billions of ideas hearing that Demo. Beside the MS20 Mini a KILLER is born!
I’m reminded of a super sophisticated SID-Chip so this synth will serve best as a sound chip on a new Nintendo console. 🙂

Played one tonight for a while. Not only does it sound as great as the demoes but the sequencer is absurdly fun! It’s so easy/inspiring to get something going and with 4 note polyphony you can still play on top of it. I did find myself wishing there was a quick balance control for sequenced velocity vs keyboard velocity. You can set the step resolution down to 1/1 for long sequences. I noticed in the manual that you can also set its external sync (in or out) clock to 1/2x or 2x so (haven’t tried it) that could open up options for longer sequences while syncing to other gear at ‘normal’ tempos.

The single LFO is a bit of a bummer but you can use the motion sequencer as an asynchronous modulation source in basically in any shape you can twist. One enhancement that would help in that space is if you could trigger the sequencer on key-down. That way you could record motion sequences without notes and have them act like additional LFOs with key follow on and/or like looping envelopes. I imagine that’s just a software update away (from possible).

The bender… sucks. When it’s set as +/-12, it’s *very* hard to do anything subtle with it, especially starting from the center position. Feels great, just doesn’t play great.

Darn… I had hoped I could play the transposable sequencers in the MicroBrute and Mother-32 from the Minilogue, with them all transposing together. Hopefully that may be a system update away from implementation…